Oceania penalises Brits again!

[sweep]

It does appear that we Brits are hit every which way with American cruise lines. Oceania's free air did not apply to us and I've now just clicked on the link to enter for a free cruise and find ' US citizens only'.

 

We really do like Oceania and find it superior to British lines such as P&O, Fred Olsen etc. However this kind of treatment is very offputting. There is very little chance of winning a free cruise anyway so why are we barred from even having a try?

 

Sweep

[ShopperfiendTO]

The free cruise contest I think you're talking about is run by this website, not Oceania.

 

If it makes you feel any better, Canadians, most of whom are actually closer to what is generally known as "USA" than are Hawaiians and Alaskans, aren't eligible either.

[jollyjones]

I know that Bermuda is a very small island but we never qualify for any of these things either - no 'free' air (it's not free) or entry into the competitions or anything. Plus, air from here is expensive to everywhere (small market) and it's kinda difficult to go anywhere from here without air - there's many hundreds of miles of ocean in every direction ... Mind you, could be worse, could be living in the Falklands or somewhere ...

 

Seriously tho', about the competition - the finances are probably calculated for the USA market - any other currency could throw a spanner in the works. Altho' that still doesn't explain why we are excluded - the $BDA is linked on a par with the $US - it's that small market thing again, I expect. Well, there's only 60,000 of us clinging to this 20 sq. mile rock. Even if it is Britain's oldest colony; celebrating our quadricentennial this year!

[DT10L]

Free Air is from any US location. We Canadian pay a very small extra to fly out of the US. It is $299 each including ALL taxes and extras to fly from Montreal to Boston via Oceania free deal. From there is is free to B.A. for our Dec 22 2009 cruise. It is a steal as it would cost dome $400, plus extras and taxes to fly Montreal to Boston!

 

Best regards and happy sailing,

Henry;)

[WindrunnerII]

If you go in through the the CC UK portal, you might notice that Oceania's promo banners are not featured in any of the forums; it's only when you come in through the North American or .com site that you will see them.

 

Oceania is not looking to penalize Brits, they just don't have air contracts from the UK. I could say Regent is penalizing Americans by not offering the same promos to us as they are in the UK, but I know that different companies have different business practices in different countries.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Again,

 

The contest/competition banner that your complaining about is NOT initiated by Oceania. It is being offered and promoted by Cruise Critic. Cruise Critic "bought" a cruise from Oceania and is using it for marketing.

 

It's the same as if tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies to the London Summer Olympics were purchased by CBS.com and it used them as prizes for some contest that CBS determines is only open to its resident viewers. I don't think that Londoners would have any grounds to be complaining to the London Olympic Committee about how they're being excluded from being able to have a chance to win.

 

In short, I guess you can complain, but it's not against Oceania you should be complaining, but to the operators of this website.

 

And I'm by no means an Oceania fan-boy, just an objective bystander.:p

[sweep]

Host Laura

 

You were the one publicising this. What is your response? I would be interested to hear your view. Is it Oceania who are responsible for saying US residents only or is it cruise critic?

 

Sweep

[ShopperfiendTO]

Just to clarify,

 

Although I think that the correct party to complain to would be this website and not Oceania, I don't believe that there's any valid ground to launch a complaint. It appears that the residency requirements are just the rules and regulations which are largely driven by the laws under which the website is operated.

 

On the other hand, if for example the contest was restricted to residents of all the US states except for, say North Dakota (because no one in North Dakota cruises and Cruise Critic doesn't like the prospect of marketing the winners from being from North Dakota - just an example), then I'm sure that North Dakotans would have ample grounds for complaint.

 

Here's perhaps a more relevant analogy: Suppose bbc.co.uk had a web contest for a free Cunard cruise in the Caribbean. Do you think it proper for Americans who visit the bbc.co.uk site to complain to Cunard? To bbc.co.uk?

[2kiwis]

Just to clarify,

 

Here's perhaps a more relevant analogy: Suppose bbc.co.uk had a web contest for a free Cunard cruise in the Caribbean. Do you think it proper for Americans who visit the bbc.co.uk site to complain to Cunard? To bbc.co.uk?

 

That analogy doesn't really work as Cruise Critic is involved with cruiselines from all over the world and actively encourages participation from all around the world. Therefore, surely it would be fair to expect that the "win a cruise" applies to all those who use the website - not just Americans.

[WindrunnerII]

That analogy doesn't really work as Cruise Critic is involved with cruiselines from all over the world and actively encourages participation from all around the world. Therefore, surely it would be fair to expect that the "win a cruise" applies to all those who use the website - not just Americans.

 

So does MSC Cruises. I was excited to see a contest being held for a free cruise on the MSC Fantasia, a ship that caught my eye. However, the contest was only open to UK residents.

 

Find me any company that doesn't have a global reach these days due to the internet. That doesn't mean that all will be "open for business" around the world. I can find retail stores online in Oz and the UK, but that doesn't mean they will all accept/process US credit cards or ship to the US.

 

Don't forget, give-away contests tend to be highly restrictive due to all the legalities involved, in the US and elsewhere.

 

Just my two or three cents....